DON IT Business Transformation Focuses on Enterprise Solutions

Published, February 14, 2012

The Department of the Navy Chief Information Officer discussed the Department's IT business transformation efforts to prepare for a fiscally constrained future with enterprise and joint solutions that are effective, efficient and agile during the DON Information Technology Conference in San Diego.

At the "DON Information Technology (IT) Efficiencies and DON IT Way Ahead" session, Terry Halvorsen, DON CIO, and Janice Haith, DON Deputy CIO Navy, discussed the enterprise initiatives being implemented to leverage and streamline DON IT capabilities to meet the $2 billion budget cut over the next five years. "The money has been removed," Halvorsen said. "We need to specifically look at IT as an enabler and also look at the business processes that, in combination, will lead to cost savings."

The DON is focusing on gaining efficiencies through enterprise efforts, such as data center consolidation, enterprise licensing agreements, application rationalization, procurement modifications on items such as BlackBerries, and business process modifications, to maintain its high level of security and enable successful business operations through the next five years and beyond. Additional challenges the DON will face center on policy areas, such as security, Authority to Operate designations, hardware and software certification, and the amount of time it takes to bring a solution from conception through use in the field.

Haith also spoke about the Department's need to be "better, efficient and more joint" through tools such as partnership between Navy and Marine Corps, process alignment, portals, budget database optimization and application rationalization. "Currently, there are 1,400 systems and 7,000 applications. This needs to be reduced by 50 percent by FY15," she said. "We simply do not have the resources anymore."

Halvorsen also spoke about the role of industry in the DON's IT business transformation. Industry must prove how it can help the DON consolidate its IT infrastructure through means such as application rationalization and COTS that support lowered investment. Industry must also document how solutions will result in cost savings, not cost avoidance, he said. He also stated that the DON is looking for tools that operate in the Joint environment of the future -- both across the DON and the Department of Defense (DoD). From a small business perspective, he said, because "our current strategy is to focus on leveraging partnerships within DoD, other federal agencies and foreign governments, small business should do the same. Small businesses should leverage their partnerships with industry."

Listen to the audio or download the transcript of the entire session below. The session included questions from the audience.

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